Zanayiah Cross is a lot more unselfish this year.
And she couldn’t be happier.
Cross is a senior on the Frankford High School basketball team, and last year she was one of the top scorers.
But after losing players to graduation, the Pioneers found themselves without a point guard. Cross, who had played the position before growing up, volunteered to take control of the offense and make sure the rest of the team is happy.
She’s doing her best.
“It’s not too hard because I’ve had experience playing point guard before,” said Cross, who lives not too far from the school. “I played point guard at Ziegler, and we played in a really good league. The year I graduated, I was playing point guard and we actually won the championship, so I knew how to play point.
“I could have played last year, but we had a point guard who was a better fit. I like shooting guard, too, so I had fun. I got to do a lot of things I usually do. I was scoring instead of passing, which was fun. But I like getting my teammates involved more. That makes playing point guard even better.”
A change in position has been great.
But she’s also made alterations in other areas.
Today, Cross is whom the other players look to for guidance. She is the older sister to the younger girls on the team, and she’s always there to push her teammates to be better. She’s also there to be a shoulder for them to lean on when they’re down. And, of course, the example she sets is one any successful basketball player would want to emulate.
Cross is one of the best leaders on the team. It wasn’t always that way.
“She’s come so far, so far,” Frankford coach Jonathan Michels said of his star player who is averaging 12 points a game, six assists and five steals. “As a freshman and sophomore, she was overly emotional and now she is just a pleasure. She’s a leader, she’s come so far. It was her and me to be honest. I figured out what makes her tick and she figured out what I needed for me to be happy.
“She’s so coachable, works hard, an honor roll student. She’s one of the kids I’m most proud of because she has come so far where we all thought she could get to. She played at a high level last year and a much higher level this year.”
It hasn’t been easy, but it has been rewarding.
“I want people to know that from freshman year until now I came a long way,” Cross said. “I was average when I got to Frankford, I mean I was good because I had experience, but I needed a lot of work. I think from ninth grade until now, maturity was a big thing. I wasn’t working hard in practice. Now I know where I want to be so I work hard in practice. I do well in school, honor roll student.
“I feel like I have to stay positive because if I’m down, the whole team is down because I try to have a lot of energy on the court. And I play defense. Our wins come from defense. So I make sure I lead the team on defense, let them feed off my energy and do what they have to do.”
She also brings that same energy to her spring sport, flag football.
For the Pioneers, Cross is a defensive back and a wide receiver. She plays the sport because it’s fun and it helps her stay in shape, but it’s also had an impact on her basketball game.
“It’s competitive, it’s fun and it definitely helps my game,” Cross said. “It helps basketball a lot because when I play flag football, I see things like my defense getting better and jumping for balls, you have to be ready for the ball to come any time. You have to cover the person you’re covering, so it’s a lot like that. I always liked football, I always played football outside of school with my friends. I knew it would be a lot of fun, but it’s good for basketball, too.”
While she’s excited about football, she’s also starting to get pumped up about her future after Frankford.
A strong student, she has plenty of options, and she’s proven to be strong at her two first choices.
“Next year, either college or a trade school,” Cross said. “If I go to college, I’d probably major in education and try to become a teacher. If I go to a trade, I’d want to do construction. Teaching, you give people knowledge that you learned from someone else. A lot of things you can teach someone and help them out in different ways. No matter what subject it is. I think I’d coach, too, if I taught. And I love building things. I love taking a blueprint of something and turning it into a structure or a building. I think that would be so great.”
Whatever she does, she has the love and support of her mom. Her coach is always in her corner, too, and she knows that.
“I think coach is the biggest piece of the team because he cares so much,” Cross said. “We wouldn’t be as good if he didn’t make us work hard in practice and he makes sure we know that we can do it. He always encourages us. He doesn’t just sit there, he coaches during the games, he wants to see us win so he does whatever he can to get us a win.
“And my mom is a big part of my life. She makes sure I get everywhere, games, practice, she makes sure I have what I need. She comes to my games. I’m really lucky, she’s always there for me.”
Just as Cross is always there for the Pioneers.
And while her days of playing hoops at Frankford will end in a few months, she is determined to make every second count.
“We’ve come a long way,” Cross said. “I think it’s because the longer we’re playing together, the more we want to win. The previous years we didn’t go all the way, and we lost games we could have won. Our mindset this year is we want to win and we want to go all the way.”
